France is suffering from a 'crisis of authority'

France's interior minister, Manuel Valls on Monday condemned the "extreme violence" that rocked the Paris suburb of Trappes two weeks ago, saying the clashes showed that France was facing "a crisis of authority".

In an interview with Le Parisien newspaper on Monday, France's Interior Minister Manuel Valls said France was faced with a "crisis of authority" following the riots earlier this month in the Paris suburb of Trappes.

The violence erupted after a man was detained for allegedly attacking a police officer who had stopped his wife for wearing a full-face veil – a practice that is banned in France - outraging many in the Muslim community. However many said it had nothing to do with Islam and was more to do with the tense relations between France's youth and its forces of order.